In
Libya, UN
Treads Lightly
on "Isolation
Law" and
Gaddafi Son's
Trial
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
January 29 --
Even as what
was to be the
UN
headquarters
in Tripoli
getting
bombed, UN
envoy Tarek
Mitri painted
a positive
picture of
Libya to the
UN Security
Council on
Tuesday.
Afterward
Inner
City Press
asked Mitri
about the
so-called
"political
isolation law"
and of
complaints
about the
prospective
fairness of
the trial of
Seif al-Islam
Gaddafi.
On
both
questions,
Mitri hastened
to say these
are sovereign
Libyan
matters. But,
he said, he is
reminding the
legislature of
how
de-Baathification
in post-Saddan
Iraq worked
out, or
didn't.
He
said the UN
encourages
cooperation
with the ICC,
but has no
history of
monitoring
trials. Some
say it's
Kafkaesque.
On the
empty UN
building,
Mitri said it
had been
selected under
his
predecessor
Ian Martin. He
acknowledged
that money was
spent fixing
it, but
wouldn't say
how much. Ah,
the UN and
money. Watch
this site.
Footnote:
Inner
City Press
understands
that Ian
Martin, to
whom Mitri
tried to pass
the buck, is
now back in
London and has
in mind at
least six
month off
before another
UN assignment.
Should he have
been the one
to truly
conduct a
review of the
UN's actions
and inactions
in Sri Lanka
in 2009 while
40,000 people
were killed?
Could he still
get involved?
Watch him -
and this site.
, 
